In the British Baker archives

15 January, 2010

Page 43

A weird form of treasure hunt, organised at a Lancashire resort, has bothererd the staff of a local café. It was found that cups of tea or coffee were ordered and, having received the usual receipt, the customers paid the money, but attempted to retain the check [receipt]. In some cases the tea or coffee was not touched. The mystery was solved when it was discovered that a local had organised a treasure hunt, one condition of which was the production of a check from the particular café. A more pointless and peculiar scheme it is difficult to imagine. On the face of it, it would seem that the café would benefit by increased turnover and a little advertisement. But any advantage of this kind would be easily outweighed by the inconvenience to the staff occasioned by the inteference with the ordinary clerical routine, as a result of which it would be impossible to analyse the takings properly. Such schemes should obviously be discouraged.